By
Israel 21C
For
the full article go to: http://tinyurl.com/p9subll
Food
security is a major concern for our rapidly growing planet. As resources
dwindle and the population rises, smart solutions for better agriculture and
safer food storage are essential.
No
other single country – certainly not one as young and as tiny
as Israel – has contributed more breakthroughs in this area
than Israel.
Since
the 1950s, Israelis have not only been finding miraculous ways to green their
own desert but have shared their discoveries far and wide through channels
including MASHAV,
Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
ISRAEL21c
has highlighted dozens of food-related advances pioneered by Israelis. Here
are 12 major ways Israel helps feed the world.
1.
Drip irrigation
Probably
no other advancement has been quite as significant. While the concept of
drip irrigation existed well before Israeli statehood, it was revolutionized by
Israeli water engineer Simcha Blass, who serendipitously discovered that a slow
and balanced drip led to remarkable growth. He created tubing that slowly
released water where it was most effective, and in 1965 Kibbutz Hatzerim built
a whole new industry, Netafim, based on his invention.
Israeli
drip and micro-irrigation solutions rapidly spread worldwide. The newest models
are self-cleaning and maintain uniform flow rate regardless of water quality
and pressure.
Just
one recent example of how this method has impacted food supply in foreign
countries is Tipa,
literally “Drop,” an Israeli-developed kit that has allowed 700
farming families in Senegal to reap crops three times a year instead of
just once, even on infertile land.
Tipa
is “a simple drip irrigation system that uses gravity when there is no water
supply or water pressure coming to rural areas,” MASHAV’s Ilan Fluss told
ISRAEL21c. The organization has similar activities in Kenya, South
Africa, Benin and Niger.
2.
Grain cocoons
Israeli-designed
GrainPro
Cocoons provide a surprisingly simple and cheap way for
African and Asian farmers to keep their grain market-fresh.
The
huge bags, invented by international food technology consultant Prof.
Shlomo Navarro, keep both water and air out. They’re used all over
the developed world, including Africa and the Far East, and even in countries
that have no diplomatic ties to Israel, such as Pakistan.
As
much as 50 percent of every grain harvest and 100% of every pulse harvest is
lost to pests and mold, Navarro told ISRAEL21c. Subsistence farmers in
developing countries tend to store their crops in primitive baskets or bags,
which are not effective in keeping hungry bugs and micro-contaminants
out. The Cocoon solves that problem, even in extreme heat and humidity.
3.
Biological pest control
On
Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, a company called Bio-Bee breeds
beneficial insects and mites for biological pest
control and bumblebees for natural pollination in greenhouses and
open fields. Subsidiary Bio-Fly sells sterile Mediterranean fruit flies to
control this major pest in fruit trees.
R&D manager
Dr. Shimon Steinberg told ISRAEL21c the company’s top seller worldwide is
two-millimeter-long, pear-shaped orange spider that is a highly efficient
enemy of the spider mite, a devastating agricultural pest.
“Sixty
percent of California strawberries since 1990 are treated with this
predatory mite from the Holy Land,” he reported. In Israel,
Bio-Bee products have enabled sweet-pepper farmers to reduce the use of chemical
pesticides by 75 percent.
Bio-Bee
exports eight different species of biological control agents, plus pollinating
bumblebees, to 32 nations from Japan to Chile. Bio-Fly
collaborates with Jordanian and West Bank Palestinian Authority agricultural
experts.
4.
Dairy farming
Hof
Hasharon Dairy Farm, SAE Afikim and SCR Precise
Dairy Farming all makeadvanced
systems for herd management, monitoring and feeding used on dairy farms
worldwide.
SAE
Afikim is one of 10 Israeli companies involved in a five-year
project in Vietnam to implement every aspect of a vast $500 million
dairy farm project. It’s the largest project
of its kind in the world.
The
operation will encompass 30,000 cows at 12 state-of-the-art mega-dairies and a
milk processing plant supplying 300 million liters per year. By the end of
2012, 500,000 liters are expected to be produced daily.
In the
meantime, China is sending groups of dairy farm
manager trainees to Israel to
learn how to boost milk production there as well.
5. Tailor-made farm solutions
Kibbutz-based Agricultural
Knowledge On-Line (AKOL)
makes unique software to
help producers grow fruits and vegetables, raise poultry and
dairy cows, manage vineyards and make olive oil.
Hosted
in IBM’s “cloud,” AKOL’s latest project gives farmers anywhere in the
world access to information from Israeli experts. Hundreds
of thousands of farmers can obtain tailor-made solutions, arrange group
purchases of supplies and communicate with colleagues.
CEO
Ron Shani told ISRAEL21c that AKOL applications advise farmers on when to
plant, irrigate and harvest; how to cope with drought; how
to choose the crops best for their area; how to implement ideal storage and
temperature control procedures based on climate; and how to track the
growth of chickens, livestock and fruit, among other ideas for running a
modern, professional farm.
6. A
better potato
It
took nearly 30 years of research, but Hebrew University’s Prof. David
Levy developed strains of
potatoes that thrive in
hot, dry climates, and can be irrigated by saltwater.
Potatoes
are one of the top sources of nutrition in the world, but they never
before grew well in hot, desert regions like the Middle East. Now
farmers in these regions can grow potatoes as a cash crop.
Levy
told ISRAEL21c that he also intended his research to enhance understanding
between Israel and its neighbors, as scientists and officials
from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco meet with
Israeli scientists to share knowledge and build bridges of information and
technology.
Video
of the week: Grow Fish Anywhere saves
the fish population http://tinyurl.com/pe59ubj
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